Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii

Driving past Mount Vesuvius is an awesome experience. Such power and destruction. Looking at the mountain (see picture) you see what looks like two mountain peaks. It is actually one with the entire center blown out. This cataclysmic blast is what destroyed Pompeii in 79 AD. The blast rose 15 miles up and was moving at 62 miles per hour. No one could out run it!

A map showing the cities and towns affected by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The general shape of the ash and cinder fall (see en:pyroclast) is shown by the dark area to the southeast of Mt Vesuvius. (P.S. It seems strange to show the modern day English names for the two bodies of water – I am open to suggestions). This map shows lines and uses the Mercator projection (although that is not important on a map of this scale). North is, as usual, at the top of the map. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)